


Now is a Good Chance

by h_itoshi



Category: Sexy Zone
Genre: Christmas Date, Fake/Pretend Relationship, M/M, Meeting the Parents, Mostly Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 16:28:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28300155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/h_itoshi/pseuds/h_itoshi
Summary: “Actually, mom, the reason I want you to get off my back is that I'm kind of already seeing someone,” Fuma says without thinking, just to make her stop nagging, then bites his lip in immediate regret.
Relationships: Kikuchi Fuma/Nakajima Kento
Comments: 5
Kudos: 19
Collections: JE Secret Santa





	Now is a Good Chance

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by Anonymous in the [Je_SecretSanta](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/Je_SecretSanta) collection. 



> I have no idea how this got so long, I was just going to write something small haha. But I hope that's a good thing
> 
> **Prompt:**
> 
> Character A told their mother they were dating someone so that she would stop trying to set him up with people. The plan backfires when she insists he bring his boyfriend home for Christmas, Character B agrees to play the role.

Fuma groans as he picks up his phone when he gets out of the shower and sees it vibrating with his mother's name on the screen. Not again.

“What?” he simply says as he picks up with a sigh, because she's been calling him every day lately, always with the same goal.

“What kind of greeting is that?” she immediately questions, but she doesn't sound very serious. “Didn't I raise you better than that?”

“I'm kinda busy mom,” Fuma tries, feeling a drop from his hair hit his hand and promptly puts his phone on speaker instead to avoid getting it wet.

“You always say that,” she tells him, sounding completely unimpressed by the fact that he's got a lot of work. “So, I was thinking, about Christmas-”

“Oh here we go,” Fuma sighs, but his mother either doesn't hear him, or just pretends she doesn't.

“You know the Murakamis? We used to go skiing with them when you were younger, and their daughter Mika just broke off her engagement a couple months ago. Cheating fianceés seem to be more common than you'd think, don't they? Anyway, she's home for Christmas and I was thinking-”

“Mom!” Fuma calls, rubbing his forehead where he's worried all this frowning is going to give him premature wrinkles. “Would you stop trying to set me up with all these women I've practically never met?”

“But honey, I'm just worried about you,” she claims, sounding a little offended.

Fuma knows she's worried, but he also really wishes he could just live his life on his own.

“All these bad girls you keep hanging around with, new names every other week, I don't approve of that,” she tells him, and Fuma wishes she wouldn't read gossip. Or talk to Shori for that matter. “You always wanted to settle down and you're not exactly getting younger.”

“Mom I'm 25,” Fuma tells her acidly. “And an idol. I can't exactly get married next year without wrecking my entire career.”

“With that kind of thinking you'll be 43 and nowhere close,” his mother tells him just as acidly. “I know you and your procrastination habits.”

“Actually, mom, the reason I want you to get off my back is that I'm kind of already seeing someone,” Fuma says without thinking, just to make her stop, then bites his lip in immediate regret. 

There's a moment's pause, and Fuma utilizes it to glare at himself in the mirror, telling himself silently that he's the dumbest person alive and that he should take that back right now before it escalates into a disaster.

“... Why didn't you tell me?” she asks, sounding solely curious now and at least it's nice to be rid of the accusation in her tone.

“Well...” Fuma starts, taking a deep breath, ready to confess. “Actually-”

“Is it because it's not a girl? You know I wouldn't mind if it was a boy, right?” she says, and now she just sounds hurt.

Half a dozen Christmas movies flash before Fuma's inner eye and he can almost see the lightbulb over his own head as he starts drying his hair with the towel, thinking that maybe he can get out of this unscathed.

“... Yeah. It is,” he admits, and he's already planning on asking Juri to come for dinner at his mom's house and pretend to be in love with him. It'll be a piece of cake. They can just break up in a month or so and “go back” to being friends and his mom will be none the wiser.

“It really is? Why didn't you tell me?” she asks, sounding excited now, and Fuma opens his mouth to give her an answer, but then she goes on. “I know who it is. It's Kento-kun, isn't it?”

Fuma freezes, staring at his slightly moist phone screen and for some reason he blushes furiously.

“Uhm, mom, what-” he starts finally, but she just makes an excited noise and cuts him off.

“I knew it! I always told Tsune if there was ever a boy, it would be him, the way you were going on when you were younger, and see? I was right! Oh he'll be happy for you too, I'm sure! Do invite Kento-kun for Christmas? We'd love it so much.”

“I... I'll ask him,” Fuma finally says, and his mother makes a delighted noise and says she has to plan the food, then hangs up.

Fuma stares at the dark screen for another couple moments, wondering what just happened. He turns to look at his own reflection, his cheeks still pink and his look miserable.

“You stupid fuck,” he says out loud, considering smothering himself with the towel.

That definitely escalated into a disaster.

* * *

“Kento?” Fuma starts, feeling more uncomfortable talking to him right now than he's ever had. Not even when they fought a lot those years ago did he feel this weird.

They're sitting on a couch together waiting to be called for wardrobe for a photoshoot, Kento engaged in his phone and Fuma with sweaty hands and a tense voice.

“Mmm?” Kento replies, sounding absentminded, and Fuma considers just dropping this and telling his mom Kento couldn't make it.

“I did something stupid,” Fuma confesses, and that definitely catches Kento's attention, makes him look up with alarm in his eyes.

“What did you do?” he asks warningly, and he clearly thinks it's a professional blunder, so Fuma quickly backpedals.

“Nothing like that! Something stupid that won't affect our careers,” he says, and Kento visibly relaxes. “I lied to my mom.”

“Oh,” Kento says, sounding a little confused. “I... Kinda thought you did that all the time?”

Fuma sends him an offended look, but then figures that maybe he does have that image. He doesn't lie to her, he just withholds information from her, but doesn't everyone?

“She's been nagging me about dates for weeks and tries to set me up with all these random girls I met last time when I was 8, and so yesterday I just snapped and told her I was already seeing someone,” Fuma starts, and Kento watches him with polite curiosity, like he still can't see what this has to do with him. “And somehow she thought I didn't tell her before because I was dating a boy, and I just went with it to make her stop nagging, and then,  _ somehow _ , she assumed I was dating... You.”

Fuma sighs, stroking his hair back nervously and turns to look at Kento even though he'd rather not. He feels more awkward telling him this than he's felt actually confessing to girls in the past.

Kento just looks moderately surprised and a little amused, which Fuma doesn't know if it's good or not.

“Oh? Okay. Why would she do that?” he asks, and Fuma shrugs with an exasperated sigh.

“I have absolutely no idea,” he says, and he sees Kento trying to hide a smile, which only makes him more frustrated. “I tried to tell her she got it wrong but I was so shocked and she talked over me, and then she asked me to invite you for Christmas and... Yeah. That's where I'm at.”

“Well I do know a thing or two about determined mothers,” Kento says with a small smile, and Fuma smiles back nervously because he definitely knows what Kento's mom is like. “So, not to be rude, but why are you telling me this?”

“I don't really know,” Fuma groans, hiding his face in his hands momentarily. “I guess I just wanted you to know so you could back up my fraud if someone asks.”

“Back up your fraud?” Kento asks with laughter in his tone, and Fuma actually finds himself blushing. “You want me to be your Christmas date or something?”

There's something in his tone that makes Fuma just drop all defences, because it's not just mocking.

“Oh my god, would you?” Fuma asks, and he feels so incredibly uncool right now. But then again Kento's seen him do all kinds of uncool shit throughout the years, he doesn't have much of an image to uphold in front of him. “I was thinking I'd just say you couldn't come, but I mean, she'd swallow it whole if you actually came?”

“I guess I could?” Kento shrugs, looking thoughtful like he was just offered a tricky acting job. “Is it Christmas Eve?”

“Christmas Day, dinner,” Fuma says, sighing. “Both my siblings have dates on Christmas Eve.”

Kento actually laughs and it makes Fuma feel a little easier about the whole thing. “No wonder she's up your ass about dating then. Is your sister even old enough to date?”

“Yeah she's 13 already. Those little shits are ruining it for me, aren't they?” Fuma agrees, then wets his lips and looks at Kento a little more closely. “Could you really pretend to date me?”

“I think so? I know you really well, you're good looking and your mom's cooking is great?” Kento says, like he's given it a lot of thought, and Fuma is just about to tease him about calling Fuma good looking when they're called to wardrobe.

* * *

Fuma doesn't think too hard about their agreement at first, just confirms with his mom that Kento actually will be coming, and he's a little worried she's going to explode with excitement. The kind of surprised tone in her voice when she goes on to ask if Kento's gotten over his tomato-hate yet makes Fuma feel like she was really expecting him to say Kento couldn't come.

Then she starts asking really uncomfortable questions, like when they started dating and how they figured it out, how long they've had feelings, so Fuma quickly tells her he has to go and hangs up. They definitely have to get their story straight before they actually go, but Fuma figures they can just do that in the car.

But the closer it gets to Christmas, the weirder Fuma feels about the whole thing. He catches himself thinking about Kento much more than he's done in years, and he keeps coming back to why his mother would assume he was dating Kento of all people. It's not like they hang out often. Or talk much outside of work at all for that matter. They're not estranged in any way, they just have other things to do in their spare time than see more of each other.

He also remembers his mother saying something about “the way you were going on when you were kids” or something like that, and Fuma doesn't know what that means. But it does make him uneasy, because he feels like he's missing something here that he should know.

In the end, he spends most of his waking time considering those things, and so three days before Christmas he swallows his pride and scrolls to Hokuto's number in his phone.

“Hey Fuma, what's up?” Hokuto picks up the phone, and it sounds suspiciously like he's got his mouth full of food.

“What are you doing?” Fuma asks, sounding more judgemental than he intended, and Hokuto makes a rebellious noise.

“Catching up on senpai drama and ruining my diet, why?” he says confidently, and the obvious crinkling of a bag of chips is almost pointed.

“I kinda wanna ask you something,” Fuma says, wondering how he can put this without Hokuto laughing at him. If that's even possible.

“If it's how I can ruin my diet and still look smoking hot, it's not something you can achieve I'm afraid,” Hokuto tells him in mock pity, and Fuma rolls his eyes.

“Yeah? How's your eyesight these days? If you think you look hot?” Fuma counters, and Hokuto laughs.

“Good enough,” he claims, very audibly putting what seems like a fistful of chips in his mouth and starts crunching away, clearly waiting for Fuma to go on.

“No, it's kind of a weird question,” Fuma starts, and he probably sounds uncomfortable enough for Hokuto to get interested, because the chewing slows down a little.

“Mmhm?” he inquires, sounding like he's charging up another dumb comment, so Fuma just goes for it.

“Were Kento and I weird?” he blurts out, then immediately continues because he already knows what the obvious answer to that question is. “I mean, between the two of us, were we weird? Back then.”

There's an actual silence on the other end, so long that Fuma has to remove the phone from his ear and glance at the screen to make sure it didn't disconnect.

“... Weird how?” Hokuto asks, and just the fact that he takes Fuma's question seriously makes him feel very uncomfortable for some reason.

“Like... Were we normal friends or was there something off?” Fuma tries, because he doesn't know what he's actually fishing for. “If you looked at us from the outside. I thought we were normal, but now I've heard differently.”

“Yeah? Who said that?” Hokuto asks, and he sounds thoughtful enough that Fuma figures at least Hokuto's not gonna rat him out to Jesse and Shintarou in five seconds, which he's thankful for.

“My mom of all people,” Fuma sighs.

“Why'd she bring that up?” Hokuto asks, but he doesn't seem very interested in the answer since he simply goes on, sounding like he's thinking hard. “I guess, yeah? You were a bit weird.”

“Really?” somehow, Fuma's heart sinks hearing that. “How?”

“A little like, the two of you were the thing, but also not wanting to acknowledge that? A lot of side glances and shit that nobody really understood? I'd say you were more complicated than everyone else,” Hokuto says, and even if that is a pretty crappy description, Fuma still knows what he means because he remembers it.

“Huh,” he gets out, mind flooded with those side glances because he needed to know what Kento thought about this new thing, what Kento said to Kouchi, which senpai Kento went out to eat with. Wanted to hang out with Kento a lot but it still felt really weird to be alone with him.

“Is something going on with you two?” Hokuto asks, and he sounds just a little too casual for it to be an innocent question.

“No,” Fuma says lightly. “I just wanted to see if my mom's opinions had any basis in facts. How're you doing these days anyway, is the album killing you or...?”

“Oh fuck yes?” Hokuto immediately jumps on, and Fuma figures the distraction technique worked.

They talk for another 20 minutes and it's nice catching up since Fuma doesn't talk to Hokuto as much as he should. Even though he's definitely gotten better at it since they debuted and Fuma doesn't have to feel that guilty anymore.

But he hangs up and files Hokuto's personal life into the back of his mind for later, all caught up wondering what that weird thing between him and Kento really was.

* * *

There's definitely something weird going on when Fuma waits outside Kento's building to pick him up on Christmas Day at 5:30, because he feels like he would if this was really a date. Kind of tingly and restless.

Fuma drums his fingers against the steering wheel and looks at the cars on the street, trying not to feel so nervous because his mom is going to bust him instantly if he seems too nervy.

He's so distracted he jumps when the passenger door opens and Kento comes inside in a whirl of cool air.

“Hey, sorry if I'm a little late, my dog sitter wanted to talk,” he says with an apologetic look, dropping his bag on the floor between his legs and reaching for the seatbelt.

He smells great and looks pretty great too, with black pants, a short grey coat and a dark blue scarf. Fuma sees a hint of something white underneath but he can't tell what it is.

“That's fine, I didn't wait very long,” he reassures after a second of taking him in, starting the car. “Did you style your hair?”

“Of course? It's Christmas and I'm meeting my boyfriend's parents?” Kento tells him with raised eyebrows, clearly calling Fuma dumb without speaking it.

“So you're a method actor now,” Fuma settles with a smile, and Kento laughs.

“If that's what you wanna call it,” he says, mindlessly tapping on the display to lower the volume of the radio a little. “Do you have a script for me?”

“Script?” Fuma repeats, immediately feeling cold because he didn't think Kento expected him to prepare anything. But as he turns to look at Kento, he sees that he's grinning at Fuma's panic. “Oh fuck you! No, I don't have a script, I figured we could think of the storyline together now.”

“Sure,” Kento agrees with a smile. “Any ideas?”

“Honestly, none,” Fuma admits, switching on the blinkers, suddenly feeling awkward talking to Kento about this. “Felt weird thinking about it I guess.”

“Weird to date me? Thanks,” Kento says, but he still sounds amused so Fuma figures he's not really offended. “I'm kinda great to date, just so you know.”

“Of course you would think that,” Fuma rolls his eyes, but quietly wonders, so he figures he'll just ask. “Why, what do you do?”

“I'm surprisingly low maintenance but I really go for it when it matters?” Kento suggests, and Fuma nods, filing this information into the brand new folder of things he should know about Kento if they were dating.

“That's good, I don't do well with clingy,” Fuma says, thinking back to one particular girlfriend that didn't last long at all. She texted him constantly and always expected him to reply within an hour.

“Good, so we don't see each other that much then?” Kento says, and it takes Fuma an embarrassingly long second to realize he's talking about their pretend relationship. “Like once a week or so?”

“Something like that?” Fuma agrees, thankful it's dark outside because he's probably blushing a little. “How long have we been dating? My mom asked but I haven't told her anything.”

“That's your question, I don't know what would be plausible,” Kento says honestly, and Fuma figures that's fair.

“How about like two months?” He tries, thinking his mom has been nagging for a little less than that.

“Okay. That's around the Not Found release, something could have happened then?” Kento suggests, glancing down at his phone screen when it lights up in his lap.

“Yeah why not,” Fuma shrugs. “And then this whole thing with Marius, that could be something? Like emotional support or something.”

“Mm. I suppose that's reasonable,” Kento says, tone a little reluctant. Fuma hears his own feelings in Kento's tone, that it feels wrong to bring Marius into this silly fraud, but honestly, it would be a plausible contributing factor if something was to change between them.

“Did I confess or did you?” Fuma asks, trying to steer off the still very sensitive subject.

“Oh I did, definitely,” Kento says so confidently that Fuma frowns.

“Why couldn't I do it?” he asks, turning in time to see Kento roll his eyes.

“Because if you actually felt something for me you'd deny it until we died,” Kento says with an amused smile. “Try and tell me differently, I dare you.”

Fuma just makes a put out noise because he really doesn't like hearing that for some reason. Maybe because it's true, but also because Kento knows that it is.

“Let's just make it a sappy post-Marius confession story so nobody asks too closely,” Kento settles, and Fuma just nods to agree. That sounds smart.

“Yeah. Is there anything else we need to know or do you think we can wing it from there?” he asks, glancing over at Kento's thoughtful face.

“... I think we can wing it, don't you?” he says, looking over at Fuma. “It shouldn't be too hard. Let's just go with the rules of improv and always say 'yes and' whatever the other comes up with.”

“Okay, sounds good,” Fuma agrees, but somehow his hands still feel a little sweaty against the steering wheel. “So uhm, about touches and stuff...?”

Kento starts laughing heartily so Fuma doesn't finish the question, because it probably is a stupid one.

“Considering what we've done in that department in front of a camera before, that shouldn't be a problem. Just please don't grab my dick in front of your mom, that'd be weird.”

“You have to bring that up, don't you?” Fuma grumbles, not amused to be reminded (AGAIN) of that one time he backed into Kento and entirely accidentally groped him. On camera.

“I like how it makes you blush,” Kento says, but he sounds affectionate and Fuma jumps when he feels a finger poke his slightly warm cheek.

His response makes Kento sigh. “You definitely have to do better than that, or not even a blind person would believe you actually liked me.”

“Shut up, I wasn't prepared,” Fuma mutters, but rolls his shoulders and wonders if this isn't going to be much harder than he expected.

* * *

“Okay,” Fuma sighs deeply as they're standing side by side, looking at the front door of Fuma's family home.

He doesn't feel even remotely ready, regretting not trying to prepare more mentally for this. But Kento seems calm, hands in his pockets and he's smiling in mild confusion at Fuma's pause. So he figures he just has to do what he always does when something feels too hard. Rely on Kento.

“Ready?” he finally asks, and Kento shrugs, the light from the frosted window illuminating his small smile and the amused look in his eyes.

“Ready when you are,” he says, and Fuma nods, thinking that after all, it's just his family.

He lays a hand on the handle and pushes the door open.

It smells like food, there's something on TV running in the living room and his brother's shoes are kicked off in a mess next to the shoe shelf like a quiet protest against order. Everything is normal.

“I'm home!” Fuma calls automatically, stepping inside enough for Kento to come inside as well. He kicks off his shoes much like his brother, while Kento properly sets his aside.

“Welcome!” his mother's voice comes from the kitchen, and Fuma's just shrugging out of his jacket when she rounds the corner with rosy cheeks and a neatly tied apron around her waist. “Oh Kento-kun, it's so good to see you!”

She completely disregards Fuma and makes a beeline for Kento, barely letting him get his scarf off before very informally hugging him. “Oh you smell nice!”

“It's good to see you too, it's been so long,” Kento says, smiling genuinely as she lets go of him, and if he's surprised by the hug, he doesn't show it.

“Hi mom,” Fuma says loudly to get her attention, and she turns to him with an unimpressed look while Kento shrugs out of his coat.

“Hi dear,” she says pointedly, then takes a good look at him while he’s reaching for a hanger for Kento. “You look thin.”

“Really?” Fuma asks, glancing down at his own body because he wasn't sure if he lost a little weight or not.

“Yes, but don't worry, we'll sort that out tonight. I have more food than you can eat,” she says, smiling brilliantly in Kento's direction before scurrying back to the kitchen, and Fuma reaches out for Kento's coat, but pauses as he receives it.

Kento's wearing a white knit sweater with a gray, snowflake-y Christmas pattern around the collar.

“Damn, you really went for it, didn't you?” he says quietly, nodding towards Kento's sweater, because he looks so much like he's dressed for a boyfriend winter shoot in a magazine it's crazy.

“Of course I did,” Kento says with a small smile, like it's obvious, and Fuma figures it probably is obvious that he would. He just somehow wasn't prepared.

“What are you lurking out there for? Come on in,” Fuma's mom calls, peaking suspiciously around the doorway into the kitchen, and Fuma rolls his eyes.

“Guess we won't be alone for a second tonight,” he jokes, but Kento just sends him a flirty look that makes Fuma feel some sort of way, and he clears his throat to try and get rid of that.

He hangs Kento's coat and then obeys his mother's orders and enters the kitchen, where his dad is standing around looking useless with a mug in his hands.

“Mulled wine?” his mom immediately asks, reaching out for an empty cup next to two steaming pots on the stove. “We had some last year at a Christmas market and it was great, so I figured we had to have it tonight. Alcoholic? No?”

“Oh, yes please,” Kento says politely, glancing at Fuma with a smile. “Fuma drives so. And hi.”

He directs the last half of the sentence to Fuma's dad, who simply raises his hand and gives his wife a look that says it all.

“Oh, you can have a little alcohol then,” Fuma's mother smiles, like Kento was still underage and having a tiny bit of alcohol at home was considered a privilege.

Fuma's brother slides into the room like the word alcohol lured him in, looking as interested in hanging out with his family as any 17 year old with a crush would.

“Hey,” Fuma says, and his brother looks up with a nod, then says a somewhat polite greeting to Kento, before simply walking up behind his mom to grab the ladle when she lets go.

She's too distracted fawning over Kento to realize he goes straight for the alcoholic one.

“Hi!” Fuma's sister shows up in the doorway to the living room, wearing what looks like a Vivienne Westwood bow in her updo, smiling widely, clearly just as interested in Kento as her mother. “Nakajima-kun, welcome!”

“Hi, thank you,” Kento tries to keep up with all the greetings and the cup he's being served. “It's been really long, hasn't it?”

Fuma's sister practically skips up to him and it makes her full plaid skirt flutter, which would probably impress a 13-year-old guy, but Kento just smiles at her obvious attempt at catching his attention.

Fuma rolls his eyes and leaves Kento with the females of his family for a moment as he intends to get some hot wine for himself (since he's obviously not being served), unapologetically nudging his brother aside and making him spill a little.

“Hey!” Fuma's brother glares at him for a moment, but then sighs as he realizes Fuma's not going to stop him from drinking booze. “She's been insufferable all day.”

“Which one?” Fuma sighs, and his brother actually smiles.

It's been a while since they saw each other, and even if they've spent a lot of their life bickering, it's easier to get along now that their age gap seems to be closing. 17 and 25 is a lot closer than 11 and 19 after all.

“Both,” is the sighed response, and Fuma turns to look at Kento smiling cutely in between trying to talk to both his mother and sister at the same time.

He decides to save him.

“So are we eating now or should we sit down for a bit?” Fuma asks loudly, and his mother says dinner is another 20 minutes or so. “Then come on.”

He urges Kento to come along with him, and Kento smiles apologetically at Fuma's mother before following Fuma into the living room, momentarily distracted by the giant Christmas tree in the corner. Fuma's siblings follow, while his dad clearly gets something to do in the kitchen.

“Shouldn't we help out?” Kento asks uncertainly as he sits down in the couch, gingerly holding the steaming mug in his hands because the couch is white.

“You can try,” Fuma's brother snorts a laugh, pointedly heading for an armchair and taking his phone from his pocket.

“She won't accept help,” Fuma clarifies, because if it's a fancy dinner, his mother will only be mad at any less skilled help than her own.

“Just praise her afterwards,” Fuma's sister agrees, promptly sitting down close next to Kento and Fuma stares at her, raising a hand questioningly. “... What? It's your own fault that you're slow?”

Kento laughs and Fuma just sighs, sitting down next to his sister instead because clearly he's not allowed to even pretend to be a good boyfriend.

“I can't believe you've grown up this much,” Kento says with a big smile to Fuma's sister, who beams cutely at him, and Fuma rolls his eyes. No need to encourage her. “It's been so long since I saw you.”

“Way too long I think,” she agrees excitedly, practically turning her back to Fuma to answer him.

“Hey Mi-chan,” Fuma tells her, pointedly taking her upper arm and pulling her back. “Get your own boyfriend, would you?”

That makes Fuma's brother look up from where he's half lying in the armchair with his phone in his hands. “... Are you really dating?”

He looks so sceptical Fuma gets a little irritated because he didn't think his brother would be the one to bust him.

“... Yes?” Kento is the one to speak up, and his expression is perfect, amiable but slightly hurt at being questioned. “Is that a problem?”

Fuma's brother looks between the two of them, and Fuma glares back defensively until he shrugs and turns back to his phone. “Thought it was just something you said to mom.”

“Well I am so happy that you are, and having Kento-kun in my family,” Fuma's sister starts proudly, and Fuma sighs, figuring the period where she looked up to him as a shining star is definitely over.

They talk for a while, Kento's cheeks turning a little pink from the alcohol as he keeps flirting with Fuma's sister even though he probably tries not to. But Fuma forgives him, since he even manages to wheedle Fuma's brother into conversation, asking about the girl he's dating, and Fuma learns way more about her than he's ever heard before. Kento just has that way with people in love, he figures.

When they're called to eat, Fuma casually holds Kento back for a moment.

“Please stop flirting with my sister, she's 13,” he says, and Kento has the decency to look embarrassed, but it's mostly cute. “Even if you're not trying, please stop.”

“She's very into boys, isn't she?” he asks after a soft apology, and Fuma breathes a sigh through his nose.

“Unfortunately,” he starts, thinking about what the future might hold. “Imagine what it'll be like in a couple years, she'll eat boys for breakfast.”

“Nothing wrong with that, is there?” Kento smirks and starts walking towards the dining room. “She clearly takes after you.”

“I'm afraid so,” Fuma agrees quietly as he follows him, trying to think that it’s not his fault because his sister doesn’t know about that. At least he hopes she doesn’t. “It's just that if they're not good to her I'll have to kill them.”

Kento laughs and leans over to keep the conversation private as they enter the dining room. “Don't worry, I'll help you hide the bodies.”

Fuma smiles and wraps an arm around his shoulders in a slightly awkward hug, but he feels his mother's eyes on him and figures it probably looks good that they're whispering together. She doesn't need to know the topic of conversation.

* * *

Dinner goes surprisingly smoothly, in Fuma's opinion.

There's roast chicken, potatoes, sauce and side dishes of fried things and salads that don't really go with the western type of main course, but it doesn't matter. It's all delicious.

Kento properly makes himself ridiculous over how good the food is, and Fuma's mother just tells him to eat more with a soft look in her eyes.

Kento's seated next to Fuma's father, and the two of them get into music so quickly you'd think they'd been best friends for years, and Fuma finds himself feeling a little jealous. His father never shows that kind of interest for any of Fuma's solo songs.

He mostly talks to his mother and sister since his brother just eats, and it feels like a normal family dinner. He even thinks that it's nice having Kento here as just a friend, which is what it feels like right now, and wonders if he shouldn't invite him some other time too.

When they've all eaten everything they can, Fuma's mother still tries to make everyone have some more.

“I can't eat another bite, I'm sorry,” Kento says with a sigh as she tries to offer him more potatoes, and even Fuma's brother shakes his head as she looks in his direction instead.

“Well there's still dessert,” she says comfortingly, like it was her trying to take their food away when they were still hungry.

“Dessert?” Kento says faintly, and glances at Fuma like he could help him. “What about diet?”

“Oh that's ridiculous, you're skinny like a twig,” Fuma's mother says promptly and starts collecting the plates. “Mi-chan will you help me with coffee?”

Fuma's sister breathes the greatest sigh she could accomplish with her lithe body, but gets up to help her mother when she disappears to the kitchen.

“I don't think I can fit dessert,” Kento says seriously, and Fuma's father laughs and says he's sure he can.

“If you can't, I'll eat it for you,” Fuma promises, and Kento smiles gratefully at him in such a soft way it makes Fuma's brother sigh.

“Get a room,” he says, making his father send him an unimpressed look.

“Why don't you get a room for your phone?” Fuma counters, because the phone came onto the table the second their mother left the room.

“Boys, please,” Fuma's father says without much fervor, a small smile on his lips as he looks between them, before stopping at Fuma's brother. “Aren't you bringing your special friend home soon? Fuma's the only one that has so far.”

Fuma grins and leans back in his chair as his brother gets a good shower of gentle guilt tripping, happy to not be on the receiving end for once. You're only the favourite when you're not around, that's the general rule, so it’s good to finally hear some of the praise he suspects he gets when he’s not there.

Kento leans back too, watching the interaction with mild interest as he sips his wine, mindlessly pushing his sleeves further up his forearms where they're starting to slide back down. Fuma gets a strange urge to touch him, and he figures why not. He reaches out to lay a hand on Kento's thigh under the table, which makes Kento glance down and then look up at him with a soft smile that only shows pleasant surprise.

Naturally, Fuma's mother chooses this moment to come back into the room, and Fuma quickly withdraws his hand by instinct.

There's dessert laid onto the table, a Christmas cake with cream and strawberries, coffee and tea, and a little bit of whiskey for Fuma's father. Apparently no one else is allowed that in their coffee.

“So, Fuma,” his mother starts just as he's cutting a piece of cake for himself. “Tell us about you and Kento-kun.”

Fuma pauses mid cut to look up at her in exasperation, because he'd just let his guard down since the questions didn't seem to be coming as dinner wound down. And of course she'd notice that.

“Well, we're in this idol group together, I don't know if you've heard of-” Fuma starts, directing his focus back to the cake, but his mother just clears her throat to cut him off. “Okay, what do you want to know?”

“How did you realize you were in love?” Fuma's sister asks immediately, setting her spoon down and leaning over the table a little like this is the highlight of her evening.

Fuma feels himself starting to blush at the blunt question, and he internally curses her and her BL manga.

“Well...” Kento starts, and Fuma gratefully dumps the slice of cake on his plate before turning to look at him, finding Kento eyeing him with a look that can only be described as adoring. “I've liked him forever really, but Fuma only figured that out a couple months ago.”

“Yeah, go ahead, call me dense,” Fuma complains, but he can't seem to keep from smiling when Kento looks at him like that, feeling surprisingly nervous as he leaves their get together story entirely in Kento's hands.

“I remember when we were paired together when we were kids, and I just couldn't stop looking at him. He was fun and popular and I was just awkward. I think I've always been in love with him, I just didn't realize until we were already debuted and it was just the two of us standing up for our fragile group,” Kento goes on, a smile of reminiscence on his lips as he avoids looking at Fuma, and Fuma wets his lips because damn, he's good. “I really tried to date other people but I kept coming back to him, even if I figured it would never happen because, well. Fuma likes girls. A lot of girls. But then this whole thing with Marius happened on top of everything else, and I needed comfort and... Yeah. Things happened.”

Kento shrugs, cutting off the story and leaving the ending to everyone's imagination. Unfortunately Fuma's too, because this story makes something clench inside his chest, and he swallows as he thinks about when they were actually told about Marius, when he hugged Kento afterwards when it was just the two of them. When they could both feel weak and helpless and talk about how they really felt, and he suddenly desperately wonders what would have happened if he'd kissed Kento right then.

“Awww,” Fuma's sister says, sighing like she's watching a romantic comedy, and Fuma's mother looks a little teary.

“It's all pretty new,” Fuma says, figuring he needs to support Kento's plotline. “But it doesn't really feel that way since we've known each other so long? Kento already knows almost everything about me and it's just... Easy? But I didn't want to tell you guys yet because it's only been like two months and we're still figuring things out.”

Fuma's mother nods in understanding, smiling like she just got the best Christmas present ever, and Fuma wonders if that might be exactly what just happened in her mind.

“Ugh, can I leave?” Fuma's brother asks, and he does look very uncomfortable, which kind of makes Fuma want to kiss Kento right here just to weird out his brother even more.

“You're sitting there until I say so,” Fuma's mother reprimands, making him roll his eyes and reach for more cake.

His mother asks a few more questions, like who knows about them and if Kento's told his own parents, which he says he hasn't because he wants to do it face to face.

“I'm so happy it's you Kento-kun,” Fuma's mother says then, reaching over the table to take Kento's hand and squeeze it for a moment. “I suspected it when you were teenagers, you were so cute back then, but then Fuma started hanging out with those other guys and. Made other choices in life.”

Fuma clicks his tongue and exchanges a look with his brother, who just rolls his eyes. There's been a  _ lot _ of complaining about Fuma's adventures in his late teens and early twenties even though none of it was that bad, honestly.

“Thank you, that feels good to hear,” Kento smiles at her, then glances at Fuma with a teasing look. “I'll look after him, I promise.”

“I'm sure you will,” she says, sounding so proud and happy Fuma doesn't have the heart to voice his snarky comeback.

“Thanks for your faith in me mom,” he sighs instead, and she decidedly ignores him.

The topic of conversation drifts into safer waters, and even though Kento praises the cake a lot, Fuma ends up finishing his piece after all. He just discreetly switches their plates when his mother isn't looking after a pleading look from Kento that makes his father cover a laugh with a cough.

But Fuma still feels a little weird, Kento's story sounding a little too real for him even if he knows that lies are the best when they’re 90% truth. But then he remembers what Hokuto said, and his mother claiming just now that she suspected they were a thing when they were kids, and it all just makes him feel dizzy. He didn't even drink tonight, he shouldn’t feel like this.

When dinner is finally over, he has that same awkward feeling he had when he picked Kento up earlier, nervous but still uncertain of exactly why, and he just needs to talk to him.

Fuma's sister and father help clear the table while Fuma's brother disappears the instant he's allowed to, and Fuma takes Kento with him back to the living room for a moment of privacy.

The TV is still on, an old movie running for the couch as the only viewer, and Fuma wipes his hands on his pants as he suddenly doesn't know what to say.

“That was a great story,” he finally gets out, and Kento smiles, looking at him with amusement in his eyes.

“Thank you,” he says slowly, stepping closer to Fuma to keep his voice down. “It was easy.”

Fuma doesn't know what to reply, just looks at Kento and the way the lights from the Christmas tree twinkle in his eyes, the look somehow very knowing and Fuma's not sure he likes that.

“Yeah?” Fuma asks, his voice barely audible as Kento slowly takes another step closer, raising his arms to rest around Fuma's neck.

“Your mom is watching us,” he mumbles, and it’s an explanation Fuma didn’t really need. Kento’s still smiling the tiniest bit, and Fuma wets his lips, hands settling on Kento's hips.

This feels terribly natural and not at all as invasive as it probably should considering this isn’t real.

“Oh,” Fuma gets out, forcing himself not to glance over his shoulder towards the kitchen doorway.

“Should we kiss?” Kento asks, but he's already leaning in, so close, breath smelling like coffee and strawberries.

“Yeah,” Fuma agrees with a single breath, if his body language wasn't enough consent because he's leaning in too.

And then Kento kisses him, and Fuma realizes so many things at once that he forgets to breathe.

It's only a moment but it feels so much longer, and Fuma's eyes flutter open slowly as Kento pulls back, still smiling and he looks beautiful.

Someone clears their throat very pointedly, and Kento looks over Fuma's shoulder with a slightly embarrassed look, withdrawing his arms and stepping back.

“Oh, uhm. I'll just go to the bathroom,” he excuses himself and then slips away as Fuma turns to face his mother watching him with a doting look.

“You know,” she starts, coming into the room as she looks after Kento for a moment before turning back to him. “I'm sorry to say I thought you were lying there for a while. But I'm really happy for you two.”

“Like I would lie about something like that,” Fuma says, and it feels great to really convince his mother.

But honestly, he's not even sure it's a lie anymore.

* * *

When Fuma closes the car door after him as they're finally heading home, he draws a deep breath and exhales it slowly, feeling like he could sleep for a year.

“That went okay, didn't it?” Kento asks, looking apprehensive about Fuma's sigh as he fastens his seatbelt.

“Yeah, it did,” Fuma agrees as he starts the car. “I'm just tired. Thank you for doing this for me.”

“I had fun,” Kento says softly, but doesn't go on, and Fuma's not sure what he should say right now.

In the end, none of them say anything, and Fuma drives Kento home in silence. It would have been comfortable if Fuma didn't have so many questions spinning around in his head, and he glances over at Kento more often than he should while driving. He looks lost in thought too, blindly looking out the window at passing cars. His profile is nice.

He doesn't seem to return to the present reality until Fuma parks outside of his building.

“Oh, are we here already?” he says with a small smile that looks pasted on, and quickly starts getting ready to leave.

“Kento?” Fuma speaks up, figuring they can't just part like this, and the severity in his tone makes Kento pause and look up at him. “Did you... Were you telling the truth?”

After having thought it over the entire car ride, he figures that's the most reasonable answer to all these questions he has. That Kento really has liked him since they were kids and that's why things were weird back then.

Kento eyes him for a moment, then a small, sad smile claims his full lips and he looks uncomfortable. “Mostly, yeah. Was that bad?”

Fuma wets his lips and takes a deep breath, wondering why he doesn't feel weird about that confession. “Kento?”

“Mm?” Kento inquires, tilting his head a little in question, like he also wonders why Fuma doesn't react more.

“Do you wanna go out sometime?” Fuma surprises himself by saying, and clearly Kento too, because he looks at him with wide eyes for a moment before he bursts out laughing.

“What?” he asks, still laughing, and somehow it feels easy even though this should be so complicated.

“It felt so good to kiss you. Like, right,” Fuma explains, and Kento blinks at him, still smiling widely like he's so bewildered he can't do anything else. “I figured maybe we should try a real date. Without my parents.”

Kento shrugs, but his eyes look more happy than sad now. “Do you wanna come up? I have movies, drinks and a cute dog. You can sleep on the couch if you want.”

It's Fuma's turn to laugh, because this is just so unlikely somehow, but Christmas magic and all that crap. “Yeah. Yeah okay.”

Kento shrugs with a smile and looks at him for a long moment. “Okay. We'll just. See where it goes I guess?”

“Hopefully to you coming along to Christmas dinner next year too,” Fuma says honestly, and Kento just smiles before pointedly opening the passenger door to get out.

  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
